MANILA (UCAN): The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) welcomed a decision by the country’s lawmakers on June 9 to halt construction of the controversial Kaliwa Dam project in Quezon province which it says will adversely affect indigenous groups and the environment.
The House of Representatives’ Committee On Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples, approved a resolution calling on Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System and other agencies to cease activities inside the ancestral domains affected by project, Inquirer.net reported on June 10.
“The Kaliwa mega-dam project is against inclusive development. We are happy to learn of this decision by our lawmakers,” the CBCP’s Commission on Social Action, Justice and Peace said in a June 10 statement.
Caritas Philippines chief, Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, likewise said the common good must be prioritised over business interests.
“Indigenous people, the community and the environment should not be sacrificed on the altar of development aggression that would only benefit the interests of big business,” the bishop said, stressing that lawmakers and the government had a duty to protect marginalised citizens like indigenous people.
‘While the Earth is reeling from global warming, here we are still doing business-as-usual projects when international studies have shown big dams are not advisable because they are not reliable and are built at an exaggerated economic cost’
Bishop Broderick Pabillo
Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, has pushed for the project, calling it the “last resort” to stabilise Manila’s water supply.
In a recent interview, Manila apostolic administrator Bishop Broderick Pabillo called for a proper review of the project.
“While the Earth is reeling from global warming, here we are still doing business-as-usual projects when international studies have shown big dams are not advisable because they are not reliable and are built at an exaggerated economic cost,” Bishop Pabillo told Radio Veritas.
The Inquirer quoted the representative for Kalinga, Allen Jesse Mangaoang, who chairs the Committee On Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples, as saying that while the committee “is not anti-development,” the panel stands firm is for responsible exploration and utilisation of natural resources.
The CBCP expressed concern in 2020 that the dam would force indigenous groups like the Dumagat-Remontados from their ancestral lands, while environmentalists say it would destroy 300-hectares of forest that is home to 126 plant and wildlife species. The estimated cost of the project stands at around 12.1 billion pesos (about $1.96 million)
